


Restless night

by Lyli



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sleep terror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 19:10:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16248014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyli/pseuds/Lyli
Summary: As always that night, Jaemin could not find sleep and would wander around in the dorms. Some unexpected event came to disrupt his lonely night life.





	Restless night

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little one shot about an extremely rare pair who deserves more love.  
> Sorry in advance for any mistake.

Jaemin kicked his blanket over and jumped out of his bed. The digital numbers of his alarm clock indicated 2:26AM. Shit. In three hours he would have to be up again, and for good this time, to get ready to jump in the van which would take him and the rest of the group to the studio where they would practice for a great part of the day.

He could not close an eye. It had been this way for a month. He would sleep about two hours a night, work his hardest thanks to great amounts of caffeine shots, regenerate with a nap in the afternoon, and then ingest more caffeine to end the day. The boys would often ask him “how can you sleep with so much caffeine in your system?” truth was, he couldn’t. But none of them knew since he was being as discreet as possible about his messed up sleep schedule.

 

 

He shuffled his way from his room to the kitchen to eat some late night snack (as he was awake, his stomach usually began to growl, definitely preventing him from falling asleep even more). He grabbed some soft bread to make a basic sandwich with ham. He bit into it absentmindedly, lights out, rather focusing on the feeling of his stomach getting filled just slightly.

A creaking noise emitting from the rooms broke the silence and made him jump on the spot. He grabbed the knife he had just used as a reflex to defend himself against whatever was rushing towards him at fast pace. Renjun and his paranormal stories had messed up with his perception of weird sounds at night.

The thing curved away from him and stumbled across the couch and chairs in the living room. It must’ve hurt, Jaemin thought. A whine came out, and then nothing.

“Chenle?” Jaemin called out as he recognized the younger boy’s voice.

He blindly reached out for him. His back was covered in cold sweat and shaking heavily.

“I’m so…”

“Are you okay?”

“Bath… room… light…”

With only a few key words, Jaemin understood that the bathroom was where Chenle was heading in the first place. He grabbed Chenle under the arms in an attempt to help him getting back on his feet but he was met by a violent mess of punches and kicks.

“Chenle, argh, Chenle! It’s me!”

Seeing as the other would not calm down, Jaemin grabbed his waist and forcibly dragged him to the bathroom before slamming his hand over the light switch. Somehow he was starting to think he was not paid enough for having to deal with this type of situation.

 

 

He kneeled next to him and cupped his face. It was wet and pale. Chenle finally opened his eyes.

“Look, Chenle, it’s Jaemin, it’s ok.”

His pupils were dilated and he was still shaking but he started relaxing a bit.

“Jaemin hyung…”

Without a word and without accepting Jaemin’s hand, he stood up and went to splash fresh water on his face. Jaemin laid back on the bathroom wall, watching him quietly as he shakily grabbed both sides of the sink, trying to steady his breath. It was a pitiful sight. Jaemin had never seen Chenle in such a state. Actually he had never seen anyone in such a state.

“Nightmare?” he dared asking as he put a hand on his shoulder. He had no idea what else it could be. He was curious but he would not pry too much as it was obvious that the Chinese boy was not able to speak properly. And probably did not want to, anyway.

Chenle lifted his eyes to look at him through the bathroom mirror. He shrugged weakly and his lips trembled and Jaemin did not know how to interpret his answer. It broke his heart. His grip on his shoulder tightened and he pulled him into a hug, caressing his back in soothing circles.

“Shhh, it’s okay, it’s over, now.”

 

 

As soon as he was ready to let go off the hug, Jaemin walked Chenle back to the living room after switching on all the lights. Maybe he was not as helpless as he thought and he felt like he had found a purpose to his pointless insomniac night.

“Can you go back to your room? If you don’t want to I can stay here with you.”

 “You don’t have to… hyung, you must be sleepy.”

Seeing some colours shining back on his pouty face made was relieving. Jaemin pinched his cheek gently. “I wish.”

Chenle threw him a confused glance. “What?”

“I can’t sleep, like, at all.”

He took his plate with his half-eaten sandwich and went to sit on the couch, inviting Chenle to join him. The latter hesitantly sat next to him. He switched on the TV and landed on some very old children show that they watched without sound.

“Does this happen often?” Jaemin asked after a moment of peaceful contemplation.

“Well… um, not in a while.”

Jaemin could not imagine what it was like for him to go through this alone. Chenle snuggled closer to him and laid his head on his shoulder. He was so adorable, and the fact that he was going through so much stress and anguish was unacceptable.

“What about you? Is it often that you can’t sleep?”

“Every night since a few weeks? But it’s nothing, really.”

Chenle grabbed his hand and played with his fingers cautiously. It was an endearing and affectionate gesture, something he would often do to act sweet as a younger member of the group. However, it held a much deeper meaning when it was just the two of them awake in the middle of the night.

“Thank you.” he muttered.

Jaemin had known Chenle for almost three years, now. Never had he thought they would bond over restless nights. And there he was playing with his hair as the other was dropping his hand and slowly slipping back into the world of pleasant dreams that he should have never left.

 

 

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

Jaemin opened his eyes. Renjun was right in front of him, a playful smirk animating his face.

“You guys were having fun without us last night?”

“Not really…”

“Wake up sleepy-head!” Renjun said as he pinched the Chenle’s cheek.

Jaemin was sleeping against the armrest and the younger was lying all over him with his head on his shoulder. He nailed him in the stomach with his elbow as he woke up suddenly.

“Oh! Jaemin hyung I’m so sorry…”

It’s okay, he thought, since he was really too cute.


End file.
